Question:
Does anyone know approximately how many words are in the English language?
2009-06-07 15:12:48 UTC
I've never thought about this before now... is there even an answer becuase it is constantly growing?
Six answers:
minmex
2009-06-07 15:17:26 UTC
There is no single sensible answer to this question. It is impossible to count the number of words in a language, because it is so hard to decide what counts as a word. Is dog one word, or two (a noun meaning 'a kind of animal', and a verb meaning 'to follow persistently')? If we count it as two, then do we count inflections separately too (dogs plural noun, dogs present tense of the verb). Is dog-tired a word, or just two other words joined together? Is hot dog really two words, since we might also find hot-dog or even hotdog?



It is also difficult to decide what counts as 'English'. What about medical and scientific terms? Latin words used in law, French words used in cooking, German words used in academic writing, Japanese words used in martial arts? Do you count Scots dialect? Youth slang? Computing jargon?



The Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary contains full entries for 171,476 words in current use, and 47,156 obsolete words. To this may be added around 9,500 derivative words included as subentries. Over half of these words are nouns, about a quarter adjectives, and about a seventh verbs; the rest is made up of interjections, conjunctions, prepositions, suffixes, etc. These figures take no account of entries with senses for different parts of speech (such as noun and adjective).



This suggests that there are, at the very least, a quarter of a million distinct English words, excluding inflections, and words from technical and regional vocabulary not covered by the OED, or words not yet added to the published dictionary, of which perhaps 20 per cent are no longer in current use. If distinct senses were counted, the total would probably approach three quarters of a million.
?
2016-09-14 08:13:35 UTC
As within the finding out of any language how one can be trained English is to make use of English. By use it I imply talk it, pay attention to it, learn it, write it. As for whether or not you will have to be trained phrases from Persian after which translate them or be trained them in English I could say that whichever method works excellent for you is the proper strategy to pass. I had a buddy a long time in the past who was once a beautiful Persian girl, I learnt approximately your tradition and feel it's fantastic. The tune, dance, songs, meals, the historical past of the persian men and women, you're blessed to have one of these tradition to name your possess.
RE
2009-06-10 05:49:07 UTC
According to the Global Language Monitor: "At the current pace of a new English-language word created about every 98 minutes, English will cross the Million Word Mark on June 10th, 2009, at 10:22 a.m. (Stratford-on-Avon Time)."
Mikey B.
2015-06-07 19:13:56 UTC
1,025,109 and counting
2014-12-02 11:25:27 UTC
22,87,000 + counting
Judith
2016-01-07 19:19:26 UTC
manglicized

lorry

hedgehog

aspiring

sequins

melody

showbiz

coattails

gig~

rim

brim

schmaltz

sentimentalism

avid

penthouse

fave

sublime

rave

plur

excavation

trench(clothes)

tan

upholstered

vinyl

notorious

rant

vagrant

bum

cringe

perfumery

tenant

seance

parlor

containership(container ship)

wit

albedo

bunkmate

convoy

Galley

skiff

airstrip

GDP per capita

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA)

epiphany

------------

silhouette

ringed

barbed

gunwale

ransom

pudgy

trawler

trawling

deterred

-----------

coalition

alliance

prod

realtor

panamax

post-panamax

morgue

mortuary

cremation

abattoir

slaughterhouse

brink

arson

arsonist

slate

acoustics

heed

choppy

------------

------------

crevice

stochastic

egotistical

big-headed

gregarious

chapped

------------

besmirch

Creosote

embankment

ballot

bipartisan

saprotroph

stratum

iteration

heather

furtive

cowered

snark

hover

jargon

aileron

Ergonomics

persue

peruse

detained

elf-lock

missal

pas

faux

reign

savvy

firmament

abysmal

obfuscate

gandeur

hydroponic

eschew

sabbatical

absolve

exonerate

catalyst

laudable

flatter

ingratiate

ancillary

epicureanism

technocrat

counterfeit

dilapidated

panacea

ignominious

neophyte

loquacious

segregate

firewise

conjoin

prospectus

haphazard

bluff

bluffing

philanthropy

ferromagnetic

atherosclerosis

tetanus

earthing

devout

geographically-dispersed

earlobe

catalase

populace

second thoughts

reappraise

dissipated

homage

patronage

aegis

trusteeship

advocacy

calibrated

calorimetry

forceps

Rhoeo

plasmolysis

cytolysis

Episcopal

Episcopalian

speechcraft

impassioned

vehement

declamatory

----------------

echelons

ecclesiastical

morale

indispensable

elocution

amateur

hierarchy

detestable

odious

abhorrent

loathsome

nefarious

iniquitous

execrable

trepidation

effervescence

radiance

lust

lacklustre

gainsay

repudiate

shunned

eschew

trepidation

siege

fortified

booty

lackadaisical

switchgear

ponder

dissertation

enumeration

liaison

concerted

bicameral

notoriety

Anaphylaxis

mildly

disfigurement

follicle

pa

pad

Anaphylaxis

crenation

fugacious

rejuvenate

bid

strath

unconsolidated

bedrock

relict

poikilothermal

homeothermal

helical

anomalous

laceration

sling

hemorrhage

liturgy

eucharist

ejaculation

carnation

Hydrangea

Lilac

Chrysanthemum

resonating

tessellation

metaphysics

pub

demoed

antimony

stibnite

feldspar

misogynist

colosseum

per diem

speculatiom

------------

stereotypically

sorcery

erroneous

uncensored

Coriolis effect

clover

faucet

celestial

Breccia

matrix

parsley

ravine

precipitous

gorge

oligoclase

muscovite

biotite

foliated

schist

financial backing(s)

sleigh

reindeer

tyndall effect

-----------

acquisitiveness

excursion

solstice

inexorable

nebula

pirouette

coalesced

gyrate

cartwheel

exonerate

indiosyncratic

misapprehension

crony

frolic

frisk

cavort

caper

romp

prance

epicure

gourmet

gastronome

battalion

didactic

shrug

frond(s)

bracken

excursion

inexorable

exonerate

solstice

nubela

pirouette

coalesced

gyrated

cartwheel

----

psychiatrist

delinquent

brewed

artillery

calibre

traverse

tactic

stratagem

ploy

contrivance

fabricated

forge

falsify

counterfeit

glaciation

sacrilegiously

consecrated

sacrilege

deity

impiety

apostle

evangelist

proselytize

rigmarole

---

knitting

squatting

squinting

incongruous

congruent

superimpose

collagen

gristle

puckered

condescending

supercilious

patronizing

patron

resilient

pouty

goatee

colossal

humongous

morbid

unwholesomely

gargantuan

minuscule

extravagant

ostentatious

flamboyant

bravado

swaggering

turquoise

dauntless

intrepid

bonhomie

reclusive

dissenter

heretic

nonconformist

schismatic

recusant

renegade

recreant

tergiversator

turncoat

renounce

repudiate

soirée

munificence

laconic

studious

bespectacled

donnish

erudite

bookish

pompous

impost

resolute

stilted

resolute

construe

undaunted

lionhearted

daredevil

gallant

valiant

unflagging

xis

qui

oust

qua

ump

umpire

solenoid

orotund

sonorous

full-bodied

resonant

reverberate

pulsate

referendum

plebiscite

ballot

electorate

kinesics

---

Deploy

Rappel

Veil

Reed

Reef

Cyborg

Globule

Homogenized

Pasteurize

deploy

rappel

veil

reed

reef

cyborg

globule

optics

dispersion

casein

micelles

serum

hydrophobicity

hydrophilic

amphipathic

phospholipid

whey

curdled

naive

sweeb

eut

dove

blogosphere

------

nefarious

lozenge

cessation

indictment

dismissal

asset

pejorative

rebuttal

critic

insistent

caustic

rejoinder

refutation

bolster

----

orphaned

perverse

avail

scum

froth

dross

----

-----

---

grafted

cardiomyopathy

arachnoid

corona

summit

subsurface

glean

myriad

poised

brink

terraforming

pessimistic

phonograph

magnetosphere

---

emanciated

anecdote

torpefy

interrogate

cross-examine

cross-question

catechize

debrief

vigilant

dazy

sleazy

sordid

bystander

apathy

arouse

perpetrator

Propaganda

jargon

alienate

-------

emanciated

anecdote

torpefy

interrogate

cross-examine

cross-question

catechize

debrief

vigilant

dazy

sleazy

sordid

bystander

apathy

arouse

perpetrator

Propaganda

jargon

alienate

****

Taumatawhakatangihangaoauauotameteat

****

THERE ARE MANY MORE, JUST BEAR WITH ME!


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
Loading...